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A new study finds that skin transplant surgery is safe and effective for treating vitiligo. Researchers followed 23 patients for up to six months after surgery and found that the treated area regained on average 52 percent of its natural skin color. In eight patients with a specific type of vitiligo, the treated area regained on average 74 percent of its natural skin color.

The experimental drug belatacept can prevent graft rejection in kidney transplant recipients while better preserving kidney function when compared with standard immunosuppressive drugs, data from two international phase III clinical trials show.

Papaya extract seems to have a toxic effect on cancer cells in culture, suggesting a potential treatment. Scientists documented for the first time that papaya leaf extract boosts the production of key signaling molecules called Th1-type cytokines. This regulation of the immune system, in addition to papaya’s direct anti-tumor effect on various cancers, suggests possible therapeutic strategies that use the immune system to fight cancers.

Diabetics, under the gun to better manage their disease by controlling their food intake and weight, may find themselves in the sticky wicket of needing treatment that makes them hungry, researchers said.

The secret world of inflammation is slowly being revealed by the application of advanced techniques in microscopy, as shown in a new study. Researchers used 2-photon microscopy to identify how killer T lymphocytes behaved when they enter sites of inflammation caused by the parasite Leishmania donovani, and which infected cells they were able to recognize.

New research reveals Small Colony Variants (SCVs) of P. aeruginosa to be a hallmark of chronic infection in cystic fibrosis (CF) patients. Results suggest that SCV-mediated persistence might be a good target for antimicrobial chemotherapy.

Scientists reveal a surprising new function of Notch protein that contrasts with the one known to date.

By managing to express the protein that enables red blood cells infected with the malaria agent Plasmodium falciparum to bind to the placenta and by deciphering its molecular mechanisms, a team of researchers has taken an important first step in the development of a vaccine against pregnancy-associated malaria.

Researchers in the UK have made a new advance in understanding how the body fights certain types of cancer and other disease such as Lupus and rheumatoid arthritis.

Millions of people in both the developing and developed world may benefit from new immune-system research findings that identify a cell population that fights off parasitic infections but also causes allergies and asthma.

Seaweed extract may eventually emerge as a lymphoma treatment, according to laboratory research. Seaweeds containing fucoidan, a sulfated polysaccharide similar to heparin in chemical structure, have been reported to have anti-tumor activity in mice and some cell lines.

Scientists studying the Anopheles gambiae mosquito have found that the act of feeding triggers two enzymes to form a protective barrier that prevents the mosquito’s immune defense system from clearing disease-causing agents that can be passed on to humans. Disrupting the protein barrier can trigger mosquito immune defenses to intervene and protect the insect from infection. This finding could inform new strategies for blocking malaria transmission.

Simvastatin might help us control our cholesterol, but when it comes to infection, it’s an entirely different story says a new research study. Scientists have shown that simvastatin delivers a one-two punch to the immune system. First it impairs the ability of specialized immune cells, called macrophages, to kill pathogens. Then, it enhances production of molecules, called cytokines, which trigger and sustain inflammation.

Smoking is already a known risk factor for age-related macular degeneration, cataract and thyroid eye disease. Now, the first study to specifically examine the impact of smoking on uveitis-inflammation of the eye’s middle layer of tissue-indicates that tobacco smoke likely plays a role in this serious eye disease, as well. In the United States about 10 percent of blindness is caused by uveitis.

Young children in developing countries are infected at an early age with the bacterium Helicobacter pylori, which can cause peptic ulcers and stomach cancer. New findings show that childrens´ immune responses help in fighting the bacteria. In addition, breastfeeding and better hygiene appear to protect against infection.

Using a mouse model of type 1 diabetes, researchers have clearly defined the in vivo biological role of the immune system protein DO, something that had not been well characterized before.

Children with egg allergies who consume increasingly higher doses of egg protein — the very nutrient they react to — appear to gradually overcome their allergies, tolerating eggs better over time and with milder symptoms, according to new research.

New research has identified four aspects of immune system disturbance which lead to the development of celiac disease. Nearly 40 different inherited risk factors which predispose to the disease have now been identified. These latest findings could speed the way towards improved diagnostics and treatments for the autoimmune complaint that affects 1 in 100 of the population, and lead to insights into related conditions such as type 1 diabetes.

Placing small amounts of milk protein under the tongues of children who are allergic to milk can help them overcome their allergies, according to the findings of a small study.

Patients hospitalized with even mild to moderate community-acquired pneumonia who develop acute kidney injury (AKI) are more likely to die after discharge than pneumonia patients whose kidneys remain healthy, according to a new study. The study also found a strong relationship between AKI and levels of inflammatory biomarkers.

A new study touts the benefits of soluble fiber — found in oats, apples, and nuts, for starters — saying that it reduces the inflammation associated with obesity-related diseases and strengthens the immune system.

Researchers have announced an HIV vaccination strategy that has been shown to expand the breadth and depth of immune responses in rhesus monkeys. Rhesus monkeys provide the best animal model currently available for testing HIV vaccines.

Understanding how plants defend themselves from bacterial infections may help researchers understand how people and other animals could be better protected from such pathogens. That’s the idea behind a study to observe a specific bacteria that infects tomatoes but normally does not bother the common laboratory plant arabidopsis.

A clinical trial of a vaccine against a major cause of pneumonia and meningitis has shown that it can prevent three out of four cases of re-infection in HIV-infected adults in Africa. The trials, conducted in Malawi, studied the efficacy of a vaccine against infection with the Streptococcus pneumoniae bacteria.

An new article by a leading researcher in the bioinorganic chemistry of aluminum explains how aluminum adjuvants work in boosting the immune response to vaccination.

Amyloid-beta protein — the primary constituent of the plaques found in the brains of Alzheimer’s disease patients — may be part of the body’s first-line system to defend against infection. In a new study, researchers describe evidence that amyloid-beta protein is an antimicrobial peptide, part of the innate immune system.

Freezing a cancer kills it in its place, and also appears to generate an immune response that helps stop the cancer’s spread, leading to improved survival rates over surgery, according to a new study in mice.

A new study suggests that mitochondria can be released into the bloodstream following physical injury, resulting in a sepsis-like immune response, and leading to the onset of the systemic inflammatory response syndrome.

A research team that conducted the gene therapy trial for an inherited blindness reports that a study in animals has shown that a second injection of genes into the opposite, previously untreated eye is safe and effective, with no signs of interference from unwanted immune reactions following the earlier injection. These new findings suggest that patients who benefit from gene therapy in one eye may experience similar benefits from treatment in the other eye.

When people get exposed to the mycobacterium responsible for tuberculosis, some will become sick with a disease that is a major cause of mortality around the world while others simply don’t. Now, researchers can point to one important reason for this variation in susceptibility or resistance. It turns out individuals with a certain genetic variation are less likely to succumb to tuberculosis. They also appear to gain protection against leprosy, a disease which is also caused by mycobacterial infection.

Researchers have demonstrated the safety of a potential vaccine against mesothelioma, a rare cancer associated primarily with asbestos exposure. The vaccine, which infuses uses a patient’s own dendritic cells with antigen from the patient’s tumor, was able to induce a T-cell response against mesothelioma tumors.

Researchers from the Harvard School of Public Health, Walter Reed Army Institute of Research, and a team of collaborators have observed for the first time that the risk of multiple sclerosis (MS) increases by many folds following infection with the Epstein-Barr virus.

Components of the blood or hematopoietic system derive from stem cell subtypes rather than one single stem cell that gives rise to all the different kinds of blood cells equally, say scientists in a new report.

Worms are important source of immunomodulatory proteins that could be used in the development of new drugs for the treatment of immune-mediated diseases such as inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). A research group in Belgium investigated the therapeutic effect of worm-derived proteins on experimental colitis in mice. Treatment with worm proteins ameliorated motility disturbances during murine experimental colitis. This suggests that worm proteins have great potential to be used as therapeutic agents in IBD.

The signaling molecule CD95L, known as “death messenger,” causes an inflammatory process in injured tissue after spinal cord injuries and prevents its healing, according to a new study by scientists in Germany. In mice, the researchers found out that if they switch off CD95L, the injured spinal cord heals and the animals regain better ability to move. Therefore, substances which block the death messenger might offer a new approach in the treatment of severe inflammatory diseases.

Researchers in Germany have found a new molecule with the capacity of improving responses to vaccines. The synthetic compound, the so-called c-di-IMP, might be more than just a potent vaccine enhancer. The scientists expect to create new vaccination strategies based on c-di-IMP.

Recent research findings indicate a possible connection between virus infections, the immune system and the onset of gluten intolerance, also known as celiac disease.

The gene for a newly recognized disease has been identified thanks to the determination of an Amish father and physicians who specializes in disorders of the Amish. The identification of the new multisystem autoimmune disorder and the recessive gene that causes it have just been published

Immune cells ensnare dangerous cells that are on the run with a bungee-like nanotube, according to new research. The study shows that natural killer cells use this bungee to destroy cells that could otherwise escape them.

Tumors that grow to a certain size need to form new blood vessels if they are to continue to grow and spread to other sites. Although the molecules and signaling pathways that control this new blood vessel growth are potential therapeutic targets, they have not been completely defined. However, researchers have now identified the soluble factor IFN-beta as a natural inhibitor of tumor blood vessel growth that limits tumor growth in mice.

Individuals who have abnormally low levels of immune molecules known as antibodies have an increased susceptibility to infection with certain types of bacteria. By analyzing one such person, researchers have identified a new genetic cause of antibody deficiency, mutations in the CD81 gene.

Scientists have identified a region of a human chromosome that is associated with eosinophilic esophagitis, a recently recognized allergic disease. People with EoE frequently have difficulty eating or may be allergic to one or more foods. This study further suggests that a suspected so-called master allergy gene may play a role in the development of this rare but debilitating disorder.

Scientists have found that vitamin D is crucial to activating our immune defenses and that without sufficient intake of the vitamin – the killer cells of the immune system — T cells — will not be able to react to and fight off serious infections in the body. The research team found that T cells first search for vitamin D in order to activate and if they cannot find enough of it will not complete the activation process.

Scientists in Germany have applied a new strategy to identify and characterize genes involved in endocytosis. From their findings the scientists also hope to derive significant information about how infections could be prevented and diseases treated in future.

Antiviral drugs have reduced AIDS to more of chronic disease rather than a death sentence, but why is the disease so hard to cure? New research shows that bone marrow, previously thought to be resistant to the virus, can contain latent forms of the infection. Targeting these reservoirs of latent cells may open the door to new treatments.

New findings may soon lead to an expansion of the drug arsenal used to fight HIV.

Researchers have developed a new mathematical approach to analyze molecular data derived from complex mixtures of immune cells. This approach, when combined with well-established techniques, readily identifies changes in small samples of human whole blood, and has the potential to distinguish between health and disease states.

In some individuals the common herpes virus HHV-6 can integrate into structures at the end of chromosomes and be reactivated to an infectious form.

Researchers have gleaned a key insight into the molecular beginnings of age-related macular degeneration, the No. 1 cause of vision loss in the elderly, by determining how two key proteins interact to naturally prevent the onset of the condition.

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients are partially protected by the influenza vaccine 6-10 months after treatment with rituximab. Researchers determined that while the flu vaccine is safe, it is ineffective for RA patients in the first six months following rituximab treatment.